New maps. New units. New vehicles. New characters. The most content ever added to an FPS, and all for free! Midway and Epic Games have officially confirmed the Titan Pack is coming to “Unreal Tournament 3” for the PC and PlayStation3 March 5, 2009. This bonus content takes the award-winning shooter to a whole new level.

The Titan Pack introduces 11 new multiplayer maps for maps for Deathmatch, CTF, Vehicle CTF and Warfare modes, plus eight popular maps from the first UT3 bonus pack and Xbox 360 version. In addition, players will experience two new game modes: Greed mode, a “tug of war” style kill points battle, and Betrayal mode, a cutthroat style of play where alliances and teams can shift fluidly through a match.

No word yet on when, or if this content will be arriving on the Xbox 360.

A weakened economy won’t put a dent on Xbox Live Marketplace releases this week as we’ll be seeing a slew of game add-ons and new Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA) titles.

For starters, the eagerly anticipated “Grand Theft Auto IV” expansion pack “The Lost and Damned” is now available in the Live Marketplace for 1600 Microsoft points (MSP). The Xbox 360 exclusive gives you the opportunity to play through a new Liberty City story established around a biker gang. Stay tuned for a cameo by every ones favorite GTA IV lead, Niko Belic.

Two games will be joining the Xbox Live Arcade roster this week. Taito Corporation’s “Exit 2″ and Snowblind Studios’ “Death Tank” will be available 02/18/09 for 800 MSP a piece.

Folks who believed that XBLA game “The Maw” was a little too short will be able to continue their adventure on Wed. The deleted scene, known as “Brute Force” will give gamers the opportunity to play through one more level of the one month old XBLA title. The first of three deleted scenes will set gamers back 100 MSP.

Also, “Burnout Paradise” fans will be happy to learn that the long awaited Legendary Cars downloadable pack will be available on Thursday for 600 Microsoft points. The pack includes four cars based on popular 80’s franchises such as Ghostbusters and Knight Rider. The cars can be purchased individually at 160 MSP each, with the exception of the Back to the Future themed Jensen, which will retail at 320 MSP.

As you can clearly see, the Xbox Live Marketplace has a little something for everybody. As much as this will be an entertaining week, your bank account will definitely feel a little lighter thanks to these downloads. Voila, a perfect argument for those who believe that the gaming industry is recession proof.

While attempting to play “King of Fighters ’94” on the Wii Virtual Console recently, I learned that the title (if not all Neo Geo games) does not work in 480p. This baffles me, as 24 year-old 8-bit NES games have no issues running in 480p.

After searching around, I’ve learned of a workaround that involves a combination of button presses. If you’re stuck in a game that doesn’t work in 480p, press the home button on your Wii’mote and go into the “Operations Guide”. When in the guide, use your Wii’mote (with a nunchuck plugged in) and press “A”, “2” and “Z” buttons simultaneously. If done correctly, you will hear a sound indicating that the game has been forced in 480i mode. Next time you boot into the game, the Wii will remember that the game is to be rendered in 480i.

Sure, this issue has been around since the launch of the Wii in 2006, and will only affect users who use component cables. But the issue doesn’t seem well documented, and many gamers will probably be left scratching their heads wondering what’s going on when they make the switch from 480i to 480p.

Hopefully an official patch will be offered shortly, but in the meantime, I guess this workaround will do.

Electronic Arts’ (EA) “NHL Hockey” franchise has always been stellar when compared to other professional hockey games. It’s rare that an NHL Hockey iteration doesn’t end-up as one the year’s best titles. So when a game like EA Canada’s “3 on 3 NHL Arcade” is released on the PlayStation Network (PSN) and on Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA), gamers tend to take notice and expect some sort of quality release.

Comparing 3 on 3 NHL Arcade to it NHL ’09 counterpart is like comparing apples to oranges, as both titles differ quite a bit from each other. NHL ’09 gravitates more towards the sports simulation genre, while 3 on 3 NHL Arcade is more or less a fast-paced, no holds barred, pick-up and play hockey title.

What truly makes 3 on 3 NHL Arcade unique in comparison to your standard hockey game is its arcade style gameplay. With 3 on 3 NHL Arcade, gamers can boost their players abilities by gaining special power-ups. These power-ups offer a wide variety advantages that range from a super slap shot to an uncanny speed boost. Gamers gain access to these power-ups by simply checking opposing players during gameplay.

Sounds fun right?

It’s hard to not be disappointed by the game’s content though. You only get to play as either the red or the blue team, and you end-up having the ability to choose four players from a meager 40 player NHL roster (mind you there’s only four goalies to choose from). It’s also important to note that there is no tournament or season play incorporated within 3 on 3 NHL Arcade, all you get is 3 on 3 gameplay. And to add to the disappointment, there is only one default rink available to play on. With this much variety, you can imagine how quickly things start getting mundane.

You know there’s something wrong when the full unlocked game doesn’t really offer that much in comparison to its demo. And to be honest, why would anyone want to purchase the full game when the just of the title can be experienced for free?

Visually, 3 on 3 NHL Arcade uses the same graphical engine that powers NHL ’09, with a little less polish of course. The ’09 engine ends-up pushing a game that not only plays fluently, but also looks fairly decent.

As much as the game can be enjoyable amongst friends, 3 on 3 NHL Arcade doesn’t offer any real replay value as a single player title. One has to wonder why the game wasn’t offered as an add-on to NHL ’09 instead. Gamers looking for a full hockey experience should definitely stay away from 3 on 3 NHL Arcade, and seriously consider shelling out an extra few dollars for NHL ’09 or NHL 2K9.

3 on 3 NHL Arcade is currently available on the PS3 and Xbox 360 for $9.99 (or 800 Microsoft points) through their respective distribution channels.

The recently announced Left 4 Dead Downloadable Content (L4D DLC) will be delivered to Xbox 360 and PC gamers free of charge.

Due for release this spring, the DLC for 2008’s best-selling new game property on the PC and Xbox 360, is dubbed the L4D Survival Pack and introduces a new multiplayer game mode entitled, Survival, plus two complete campaigns for Versus Mode (Death Toll, Dead Air). A Critic’s Choice Edition of the game will be heading to retail stores this spring, and will include access to all the content introduced in the L4D: Survival Pack.

Left 4 Dead is a survival action game from Valve that blends the social entertainment experience of multiplayer games such as Counter-Strike and Team Fortress with the dramatic, narrative experience made popular in single player action game classics such as the Half-Life series of games. Released in November of 2008, L4D has earned over 25 industry awards from outlets around the world.

The iPhone OS version PopCap Games‘ highly addictive “Peggle” is available for $0.99 through the iTunes App Store. The catch is that you have until midnight on June 14 to make the purchase. Be warned though, you might have a hard time doing anything else but play Peggle on your iPhone/iPod Touch.

On June 1, 2009, Microsoft announced several entertainment focused add-ons to its Xbox Live Service during the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, California. Following the keynote, one thing seemed clear, the Redmond Software giant is poised to push its Xbox 360 platform as the media-centric device for your living room. “Our goal has been […]

This one’s for those looking for some extra “Fallout 3” playtime. The Xbox only downloadable content, “The Pitt” is available for purchase through the Xbox Live Marketplace for 800 Microsoft points and weighs in at 492MB . Below is a blurb taken from the XBLA Marketplace: “Pittsburgh was once the industrial center of the pre-war […]

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Andre BarriaultAndre's has been covering the gaming industry since 2002 and has worked for various websites including Xtreme Gaming Radio and Game Invasion on Lockergnome.com. He's also written for several publications such as BOOM Magazine and [here]. You can follow Andre on Twitter by visiting http://www.twitter.com/abarriault.